FOGO FAQs

All houses are part of the first phase of the FOGO waste collection service. Please confirm your preferred size of your red lid garbage bin here.
You will receive a new set of bins to prepare for the FOGO waste collection service. A red lid garbage bin, yellow lid recycling bin, and a green lid FOGO bin will be delivered from late July to October. A green lid kitchen caddy, with compostable liners, will be delivered in late October/November.

Unit buildings with up to 30 dwellings are part of the first phase of the FOGO waste collection service. If you reside in a unit building with up to seven dwellings, please confirm your preferred size of your red lid garbage bin here.

If you live in a unit building with more than seven units, you will be provided 240L bins to share and you will not need to specify your bin size. 
Bins will be shared as follows:-

• Red garbage bin – 1 x 240L bin per 3 apartments (ie 80L capacity per unit)
• Yellow recycling bin – 1 x 240L bin per 2 unit (ie 120L capacity per unit)
• Green FOGO bin – 1 x 240L bin per 5 units

You will receive a new set of bins to prepare for the FOGO waste collection service. A red lid garbage bin, yellow lid recycling bin, and a green lid FOGO bin will be delivered from late July to October. A green lid kitchen caddy, with compostable liners, will be delivered in late October/November.

Unit buildings with more than 30 dwellings will begin their FOGO waste collection service in 2025-2026. You do not need to do anything further in 2024.

Please note if your building is greater than 7 units / dwellings and has individual garbage bins and/or a limited communal waste storage area or other unique bin storage arrangement please have your body corporate or strata manager contact Council here: fogo@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au. Council can then inspect the property on an individual basis to work out a solution.

Property owners can find their property assessment number on previous rates notices and instalment notices. This can be found on the top right-hand side of the document. Alternatively, call the Customer Contact Centre on 1300 617 058.

We want to make this change as smooth as possible for renters and landowners. But given the decision to opt for a larger bin will be reflected in the waste charges that go into rates, it’s only appropriate that decision is approved by the ratepayer. Please contact your real estate agent or landlord for them to purchase a larger bin option on your behalf. Whether you rent or own, with the introduction of the FOGO waste collection service, residents will put their food scraps in the green lid FOGO bin instead of the red lid garbage bin. This change is expected to reduce the volume of waste going into the red lid garbage bin by up to 40%. You’ll also get increased capacity moving from 760L per fortnight to 880L per fortnight across your red, yellow and green bin – an increase of 120L extra bin space.

Please visit Waste Management and FOGO Guide for Renters for more information. 

A weekly service for a 240L green lid FOGO bin is included in the standard domestic waste charge each ratepayer already pays via their rates notice.

The new waste service including the new FOGO collection and bin roll out is being funded from the Domestic Waste Management Reserve. Council has been building this Reserve in anticipation of the cost associated with delivering the new service and to ensure no sudden cost impacts for our households.

From July, all houses, duplexes, townhouses and unit buildings with less than 30 dwellings will receive new bins including a new green lid FOGO bin (240L) to replace the existing green lid garden organics bin. The new FOGO waste service will start in November.

The green lid FOGO bin is 240L, which is the same size as your current yellow lid recycling bin or green lid garden organics bin.

Bins have an average lifespan of around 10 years and the majority of the bins in the LGA are more than 10 years’ old. Council has taken the opportunity to schedule an LGA-wide bin replacement program as a part of the FOGO rollout. Providing households with new bins at the same time helps reduce the amount of emission associated with bin repair and replacement delivery over the expected lifespan of the bins. This is the most efficient way to ensure the majority of the bins are of acceptable quality for the next 10 years and reduce all the repair-related issues. All old bins will be recycled.

Your new suite of bins are not equipped with RFID chips or any form of tracking devices.

The FOGO waste collection service will help Council increase the volume of waste being diverted from landfill by 85% by 2038. It will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the waste being turned into compost that can go back into gardens and parks.

FOGO will be taken to Cleanaway’s Fogo processing facility at Eastern Creek. Materials are shredded and placed in large piles.  The material in piles are mixed and aerated regularly.  Microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi are naturally present in this FOGO material.  These organisms eat this nutrient-rich material.  After a few weeks, all that organic waste is broken down into nutrient-rich, soil-like substance called compost.

Residents living in houses, duplexes, townhouses and unit buildings with less than 30 dwellings will receive new bins from late-July to October 2024. Residents living in unit buildings with more than 30 dwellings will be receiving new bins at a later stage.

Food waste degrades in landfill and produces harmful greenhouse gases like methane which is 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2) and produces more heat in the atmosphere. Food waste also takes up valuable space in landfill which is quickly running out and is limited.

When FOGO waste is collected separately, FOGO can be processed into compost that can be used for farming, parks and sports fields.

Council officers will be randomly checking FOGO bins to ensure there isn't any contamination and will be educating residents who are found to be contaminating their FOGO bins.

The FOGO waste collection service is designed to accommodate food waste generated by residents. If you generate a large volume of food waste because you run a small food business at home, please obtain a business waste service separate to your residential waste service.

We encourage you to continue to compost and only put excess food scraps, garden waste or organic items not suitable for compost into the FOGO bin.

Yes, a new calendar will be delivered with the FOGO caddy before FOGO commences. For more information, visit our Bin Collection page.

The FOGO waste collection service will be rolled out first to houses, duplexes, townhouses and unit buildings with less than 30 dwellings. The FOGO waste service collection for unit buildings with more than 30 dwellings will follow at a later stage. If you're unsure, contact Council Customer Service Centre on 1300 617 080 or 02 9806 5050.

The FOGO waste collection service is offered to residents only at this stage. If you generate a large volume of food waste, please obtain a business waste service separate to your residential waste service.

Each property is entitled to one free City of Parramatta kitchen caddy. If a property is paying for more than one waste service e.g. for a duplex or a granny flat then they are entitled to an additional caddy. Please email our FOGO team on fogo@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 9806 5050.to see if you are eligible for an additional caddy to be delivered. If your dwelling is not entitled to an additional caddy, we suggest upcycling an old ice cream or yoghurt container.

Caddies will be delivered from late October. Council will provide residents with a FOGO 'starter pack' including one FOGO kitchen caddy and a six months' supply of compostable liners. For additional caddies, you can upcycle an old ice cream or yoghurt container.

The Council-provided kitchen caddy comes in one size. For alternative caddies, you can upcycle an old ice cream or yoghurt container.

Yes.

Food scraps can be placed directly into the kitchen caddy. With your leftovers, remove any plastic packaging before placing into the kitchen caddy. To make it easier, City of Parramatta will provide households with a ‘starter pack’ including a kitchen caddy and compostable liners. Use the kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps and when it’s full take it out to your 240L green lid FOGO bin.

The yellow lid recycling bin will be collected fortnightly.

The green lid FOGO bin will be collected weekly.

The red lid garbage bin will be collected weekly.

You cannot put any garden waste or food scraps into the yellow lid recycling as it will cause contamination. Your red lid garbage bin can accept food waste and garden waste but it is not recommended as it will be sent to landfill.

With the introduction of the FOGO waste collection service, residents will put their food scraps in the green lid FOGO bin instead of the red lid garbage bin. This change is expected to reduce the volume of waste going into the red lid garbage bin by up to 40% and also reflected in the red lid garbage bin from 140L to 80L capacity.

Food waste cannot be put into recycling bins as it causes serious contamination of the recyclables. Continuous contamination of the recycling bin will result in recycling service being removed from your property. Placing food waste in a red lid garbage bin is acceptable but not encouraged as it will go to landfill.

Households which currently have a 240L red lid garbage bin will be automatically provided with a new 240L red lid garbage bin unless you contact Council to change the size of your bin.